Hear ye! Hear ye! This Sunday we welcomed all preschool princesses and knights to A Royal Christmas at King Jesus' castle! Throughout this Christmas series, we'll be learning different names for Jesus.
This Sunday we learned that Jesus Is The Good Shepherd! Click below, so that Hark the Herald and the Kingdom Sheep can tell you all about it!
In Small Group we read a story that Jesus once told about a shepherd in Matthew 18:10-14. We also put together puzzles that taught us different ways Jesus takes care of us like a shepherd takes care of his sheep. At the end of small group, we practiced saying our new Remember Verse with the motions:
"He is King (put on pretend crown)
over all (spread arms up and out)
kings.” (put on pretend crown)
Revelation 17:14
Candy canes are something we often see during the holidays, and they look just like shepherd's staffs! Use candy canes to help your kids remember that we are the sheep and Jesus Is The Good Shepherd!
THE LIFE OF JOB - WEEK 7
"Party Time"
Group Leader Guide for use December 4-10, 2011
Directions: This guide provides a menu of teaching and discussion materials to help in leading your group. Please select and use the materials that best suit your group.
SERMON RECAP:
The book of Job ends on a high note. Job 42:12 tells us that Job’s life ended way better than it started. And Job could celebrate everything God did in his life. Sometimes, it’s hard to see the end from the beginning. When people face trouble, it’s much easier to give up than it is to keep going. But, one of the lessons of Job’s life is that there is a reward for finishing well. Job faced his disappointments but he never gave up on God, and God rewarded his faithfulness. Today, we can know that God will also reward us when we remain faithful to Him.
A big part of this is learning to see people how God sees them. We do this by learning to:
ICEBREAKER:
What do you think Heaven will be like? The sounds? The smells? We hear a lot about the streets of Gold and the mansions on hilltops, but we do not always hear much about the celebration that will be taking place. Remember, Heaven is God’s home and the only place that is free of sin and evil. Heaven is a place where nothing matters but God’s glory and we will be celebrating there; nothing else will seem important to us! Why do people not celebrate on Earth like we will in Heaven?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Leaders’ note: Answers provide Bible verses for the group to look at together as you reinforce the Bible as the guide and source for victorious living. Pick which questions you think work best in your group. Add and alter as necessary!
Q: In recent months we have often been encouraged to take our “next steps” in our walks with God. What steps have to happen in our hearts before we can truly hear Him?
A: 1 John 2:15-17; Psalm 40:8; Mark 3:33-35
Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you can not hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. We must also prepare the right attitude in our hearts and minds in order to listen to Him clearly. In order to listen to God and receive His instruction, we must want His will as much as He wants it for us. If we stubbornly cling to our own selfish desire, we may think we are listening to God, but in fact we will receive a mixed message that isn’t the Lord’s provision at all. We must desire Gods will above anything else in our life. If you do, you can trust that He will direct your path. Listen to His message, and be quick to obey. Write down what He tells you and be ready to share it so that others may understand. When we are sold out to what He wants for us, we will discover a life full of rich joy.
Q: As we become more Christ-centered and Kingdom-minded our desire should be to see as God sees, especially concerning people. How can we develop this concept in our own lives?
A: 1 Samuel 16:7; James 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16; Ephesians 2:3-8
The Bible instructs us to consider other people to be more important than ourselves, and that requires a level of humility that we must trust God to grant us. It is our human nature to count ourselves as the most important, but we have to realize that every single person is included in that command; we should consider everyone to be worthy of our service. In many instances, we have probably listened to the prejudged viewpoints of others that were based on outward appearances but this is not how God sees people at all. As we devote ourselves to live in obedience to the Holy Spirit it should become easier to see from God’s perspective. Seeing people as being made in the image and likeness of God should motivate us to love as God loves—unconditionally and unbiased. God wants us to use our God-given potential in others by showing them the love of Jesus so they will be able to develop this mindset in their own lives. As God’s people, we are required to serve people.
Q: Name some things that people might be dealing with on the inside that we can not see on the outside. These things may be causing less-than-desirable behavior that we can see. What does the Bible say about how to view others who do not look/act like we do?
A: Matthew 5:43-48; Proverbs 17:9; John 13:34-35; I John 3:16-18
Marriage difficulties can creep into a person's personality and wreak havoc on their interpersonal and coping skills. The same goes for woes over a wayward or even a critically ill child. Perhaps financial worries are to blame. Low self-esteem can make people quip hateful and judgmental remarks, as speaking badly about others is often thought to make us feel better about the faults within ourselves. Maybe the presence of sin is causing problems, or maybe the person simply has never received salvation. Jesus pleads with us to love our enemies and even to pray for those who persecute us and make our lives difficult. The Bible is also quick to remind us not to spread word of others' situations (i.e., gossip), but instead to pledge to pray. Every response we show toward others who are hurting (or "showing out") points back to what we believe and Who we believe in. Our response and behavior is a major part of our witness to those who don't know Him as their Lord and Savior.
Q: What are some ways we can love as God loves, feel what God feels, view others as God views them?
A: Genesis 6:5-6; Psalm 56:8; Matthew 25:34-40
We can ask, first of all, for God to give us His love for others, His empathy for the concerns and pain of others, and His eyes to see others. We can ask Him to show us sin as He sees it, dirty and sickening and disgusting. It can be a difficult thing to view, for many of us may not fully realize what this request, the asking God to "break our hearts for what breaks His," entails. We can seek out ways in which we can tangibly show love, compassion, and mercy to others. The Bible says that doing things "for the least of these" is the same as doing these kind things for Christ Himself. To use a popular phrase, we can ask God to help us be "Jesus with skin on," viewing the world around us in a new and clear way and being a blessing to others as we go about our days, leaving condemnation and judgmental attitudes by the wayside.
L.E.A.D.S. Application:
The heart of NewSpring home groups is summarized by the acronym LEADS:
L – learn the Bible together
E – embrace serving together
A – assist one another
D – devote ourselves to generosity
S – send people out to start new groups
Group leaders, let’s end this semester of groups with a celebration for God’s goodness – for the life change He has showered upon NewSpring home groups this semester! What a cause to celebrate! We can assist and encourage one another as we take a moment to thank Jesus for His good and eternal work He has accomplished through groups.
Leaders, allow for reflection time. You can begin this time by sharing what you are most thankful for during this stint of groups. Thank God for the commitment and obedience and community of your group members, for a setting to gather, for the Holy Spirit encouraging and convicting your group, for a church that believes in the power of Jesus through groups, and for the unity Jesus gives us through the grace and gift of the cross. Thank Jesus for the generosity of your group and the opportunity to meet needs within your community.
Allow your group members to share each of their stories from this semester of groups. Highlight the next steps that your group members share that they have taken this semester, as you share those that He has led you to take. Invite them to share the breakthrough that God has given them through these steps. Encourage and thank them for taking these steps of faith, and challenge them to continue to keep taking their next step.
Invite your group members to be praying through becoming a group leader over Christmas. Take time to share how leading a group has blessed and grown you. As each of you share about God’s goodness over that last semester, PRAISE God together as a group! Take time to appreciate the gravity and gift of spiritual progress through the Lord.
During prayer time, open the floor for each member to thank God. This could serve as a powerful time of unity and collective gratitude as you thank the Lord as a group. This last night of groups would be a great night to end with hot chocolate and some time to fellowship with group members as you celebrate Jesus, groups, and the Christmas season!
Tips for Leaders:
There is no time better than this week to celebrate with your home group. As the leader of your group, you have been able to see the Lord in work in ways that other people might not have picked up on. One of the best things you can do to lead this time of celebration is to share stories of how God has impacted you through leading this group as well as how you've seen Him impact other group members. This is a great opportunity to finish out this semester strong while also setting a great foundation for where you can pick up when groups start meeting again. Remember, though, make sure not to “pull the plug” on the relationships that have been built. Whether your group will reconvene next semester or not, take whatever time you need to establish some lines of communication that will keep the relationships in your group strong for the long haul.
Sunday was week one of our new series, The Christmas Knight! During each week of this series, we will be learning a different name of Jesus and why Christmas is all about Him!
This week, we learned that Jesus is called The Vine in John 15:5. Since Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, we each realized that I Cannot Do Anything Without Jesus!
During Large Group, two knights named Noble and Kerfuffleous were summoned by the king in a quest to become The Chrsitmas Knight. After receiving a message from the king's messanger, Hark The Herald, Noble and Kerfuffleous completed their first royal task by decorating the king's royal Christmas tree. Noble was nervous about being able to do the task, but after remembering that Jesus is the Vine, Noble realized that Jesus would be there to help! Noble decorated the tree in the most royal way using the king's favorite ornaments that represent the different names of Jesus. But Kerfuffleous seemed to forget that the royal tree was supposed to be about Jesus and decided to put as many decorations on the tree as possible.
In Small Group, we had a royally magnificent time as we read John 2:1-11 where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding party. The servants could not have done this without Jesus! We were reminded that we need to be connected to Jesus just like a branch is connected to the vine. Apart from the vine, a branch cannot grow. In the same way, without Jesus, we cannot do anything!
You can practice our memory verse at home! It comes from Revelation 17:14:
"He is the Lord of all lords (point up)
And the King of all kings. (pretend to make a crown over head)
His followers are chosen and special and faithful." (point to others)
Revelation 17:14 (hold up 1 on left hand and 4 on right hand)
Join us again next week as we join Noble and Kefuffleous in their quest to become the Christmas Knight!